Not as good as the debut, but still enjoyable
"Doubt surrounds even the most banal of explanations.
This is the legacy of infidelity."
An Anonymous Girl tells the story of Jessica Farris, a young woman who agrees to participate in an anonymous study about morality and ethics. She thinks it will be simple – show up, answer some questions, get paid, leave – but Dr. Shields shows an interest in her and wants to continue the study beyond the walls of the testing room. These studies show an increased manipulation of Jessica as she is told how to dress and how to act in various settings. It isn’t long until she doesn’t know who to trust – she doesn’t even know if she can trust her own thoughts as truly her own or as those of Dr. Shields.
I love a good story about an unreliable female narrator, especially one where she is in her twenties as that is more relatable, but it felt almost too like their previous novel, The Wife Between Us. I think I’m noticing a pattern to the authors’ approach. Not only are both of the main characters unreliable as narrators, but there is a distinct formulaic feel in the format of the story itself. In both books, every other chapter jumps between the two central narrators; in The Wife Between Us, we alternate between Nellie and Vanessa, while in An Anonymous Girl, we jump between Jessica and the mysterious Dr. Sheids. In the first half of the book, there is a build-up to a “big reveal”; I am notoriously bad at figuring out reveals in thrillers before they happen, but I was able to figure out both in advance. The second half of the book is more fast-paced as more twists and turns are introduced, leading to a conclusion that is more subtle than the initial “big reveal” (and, for me, unexpected in both cases).
I honestly didn’t enjoy An Anonymous Girl as much as The Wife Between Us, though from the description I was expecting to like it more. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for a thriller, or maybe the authors’ formula felt a little tired in their sophomoric book. I plan on reading the next book by these authors, but I am not waiting as eagerly as I was for this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
This is the legacy of infidelity."
An Anonymous Girl tells the story of Jessica Farris, a young woman who agrees to participate in an anonymous study about morality and ethics. She thinks it will be simple – show up, answer some questions, get paid, leave – but Dr. Shields shows an interest in her and wants to continue the study beyond the walls of the testing room. These studies show an increased manipulation of Jessica as she is told how to dress and how to act in various settings. It isn’t long until she doesn’t know who to trust – she doesn’t even know if she can trust her own thoughts as truly her own or as those of Dr. Shields.
I love a good story about an unreliable female narrator, especially one where she is in her twenties as that is more relatable, but it felt almost too like their previous novel, The Wife Between Us. I think I’m noticing a pattern to the authors’ approach. Not only are both of the main characters unreliable as narrators, but there is a distinct formulaic feel in the format of the story itself. In both books, every other chapter jumps between the two central narrators; in The Wife Between Us, we alternate between Nellie and Vanessa, while in An Anonymous Girl, we jump between Jessica and the mysterious Dr. Sheids. In the first half of the book, there is a build-up to a “big reveal”; I am notoriously bad at figuring out reveals in thrillers before they happen, but I was able to figure out both in advance. The second half of the book is more fast-paced as more twists and turns are introduced, leading to a conclusion that is more subtle than the initial “big reveal” (and, for me, unexpected in both cases).
I honestly didn’t enjoy An Anonymous Girl as much as The Wife Between Us, though from the description I was expecting to like it more. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for a thriller, or maybe the authors’ formula felt a little tired in their sophomoric book. I plan on reading the next book by these authors, but I am not waiting as eagerly as I was for this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.